United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) services

Some 100,000 chemicals are present on the global market of which about 20,000 are considered dangerous. These substances can contaminate air, water, land, animals, food, and human beings and thus need to be managed safely. Several UNITAR Programmes and Offices are engaged in supporting governments, organizations, and stakeholders in developing capacity to protect human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes: The Chemicals and Waste Management Programme comprises the core of UNITAR’s activities in this area. Project activities support the implemention of international agreements, such as the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), the Stockholm Convention, the Rotterdam Convention, and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

The imminent threat of a changing global climate poses a major challenge for human development. For example, species are threatened to become extinct, extreme weather events are increasing, sea levels are rising, and agricultural systems are disturbed. Several UNITAR Programmes and Offices are engaged in supporting governments, organizations, and stakeholders in developing capacity to respond to the global climate change challenge: UNITAR’s Climate Change Programme comprises the core of UNITAR’s activities in this area. It assists developing countries in participating in and implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Local Development Programme strengthens the capacity of local authorities in the area of climate change through its CIFAL network. The Environmental Governance Programme strengthens capacities for effective governance and public participation in environmental decision-making, including climate change governance.

Some 300 international environmental agreements have been adopted since the seminal 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Environmental governance and law involves standard-setting, institutions, and processes which guide the interaction of government and non-governmental stakeholders in implementing international agreements and ensuring environmentally sustainable development.

Maintaining the earth’s biodiversity is essential for the natural environment to deliver goods and services on which humanity thrives. It is also a key dimension of poverty alleviation. Several UNITAR Programmes and Offices are engaged in supporting governments, organizations, and stakeholders in developing capacity to respond to the global biodiversity challenge. Activities are linked and seek to make a contribution to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), signed at the Rio Summit in 1992. In 2007, UNITAR signed a Memorandum with the Secretariat of the CBD with the goal to enhance UNITAR’s contribution to the implementation of the Convention. In 2006, the Institute also became a member of the Heads of Agencies Task Force on the 2010 Biodiversity Target.